


Kids

by prettypinkliquid



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Fluff, Bamf mom, F/M, Mildly discomforting angst, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27261217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettypinkliquid/pseuds/prettypinkliquid
Summary: Be it for work, or at home, all Cara cares about is the kids.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cara Dune
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	Kids

Cara sat in the back seat of the car, cigarette in hand, waiting for her contact to return with updated information on the possibility of purchasing a young girl to use as a house slave. The very thought turned her stomach but attempting to purchase one was the only way they could get information to find out who was behind the ring, and eventually where the kids were being housed.   
  
As far as her contact knew she was a retired fighter named Gianna who now spent her time wheeling and dealing in an attempt to maximize cash flow with as little effort as possible, all the while smoking whatever she could get her hands on. In reality Cara was a mostly retired undercover agent, who was happily married with a two-year-old son and a seven-month-old daughter named Bodhi and Berkeley respectively.   
  
Hidden in a nearby building as part of the team monitoring the sound equipment, Din, a fellow undercover agent and her husband of eleven years and had a pair of binoculars trained on her just in case something went wrong. Everyone had teased them relentlessly when they said they were starting a family, she and Din were both so dedicated to their careers, and Cara had always staunchly refused to participate in anything work related that involved kids.   
  
She took another drag off the cigarette, and paused a moment to make it appear she'd inhaled like she was supposed to, letting little whisps escape her mouth like she used to when she was a teen and trying to impress whatever boy she was into at the time, of how well she could use her mouth. She blew the remainder out in a steady stream as her phone alerted her to a text message. It was from Din.   
  
**DAMN BABY! You didn't tell me you could do that. That's hott!** **😍😍**   
  
She grinned as she typed her reply.   
  
_Actually, you've felt me do this before. You said it tickled._  
  
When he didn't respond in his normal timeframe, she took a quick peek to make sure the contact wasn't on his way back and then sent another text. A response from Din arrived just as she hit send.   
  
_How red are you right now?_   
  
**I hate you so much right now.**  
  
Cara snickered. Before she could type a response another text came through.   
  
**I told Dawes that this was it. After today you're not doing anything else for this mission outside of phone work.**   
  
Cara snorted. Typical Din. When uncomfortable, change the subject. Actually, it was fairly typical for both of them. But she was glad he did. It kept her from getting too out of character.   
  
_Good. I thought I'd go nuts being away from work as a stay at home mom, but it's killing me to be away from my babies. This dude is such a fucking douchecanoe, I just wanna deck him and take him in._   
  
**I know baby, but we need to know if he's working alone, or if he's part of a bigger ring. What would you be doing right now if you were home?**   
  
Cara checked the time on her phone and her brain went into auto pilot as she went over the daily routine.   
  
_It's 5:00pm. Berkeley would still be down for her afternoon nap and I'd be coaxing Bodhi through his second daily nebulizer treatment while I made dinner. At some point Berkeley wakes up and nurses, gets a diaper change and her pacifier, then she joins her brother who's parked at the baby gate, waiting for dadda to come home. The norm._   
  
**Yeah, the norm. Which is why I told Dawes to take you out of the field. I expected the babysitter to have to deal with minor adjustments, but not one refusing to take medicine and the other going on a hunger strike. Just got a call from the sitter. Bodhi absolutely refused his nebulizer treatment and has taken himself to his room to play with his Legos. Giving Berkeley baby food was a bust, and she's maybe had a quarter of her bottle since we left.**  
  
Cara studied the message and a wry grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. Bodhi's treatment refusal didn't surprise her, it scared him to use it when they weren't with him thanks to a malfunctioning unit that sent him to the hospital while staying with his grandparents. And she loved that Berkeley had not only refused the baby food but fought the bottle as well. She didn't care that she was still getting breastmilk, the cold plastic nipple was nothing like her momma's breast. She couldn't wait to get home to them.   
  
She considered replying to the text, but the door opened and her contact got in again. Once he shut the door she dropped her phone to her lap, making it appear that she was getting bored waiting, and she needed him to come through for her. "I gotta match. Six years old, momma's got other things to do than worry bout a whiny brat," he said.   
  
Her left hand had dropped out of his sight and it curled into a fist, her inner being cackling with glee at the thought of splitting his head open for calling a child a whiny brat. She wouldn't dream of saying that about her babies. And the fact that the kid's mother was the seller was almost more than her temper could take. It had taken them two years for her to get pregnant with Bodhi, and nearly as long with Berkeley, and there was some bitch willing to sell her's because she thought the girl was whiny. She was tempted to take the offer just for the potential to adopt her and give her a real home.   
  
She recovered quickly. "Six is younger than I wanted, but that'll make it easier to train her to be a good girl," she said silkily, forcing herself not to flinch at the thought of what her own words implied. She couldn't believe that had rolled off her tongue so easily. Where the hell did that come from? She didn't like it, at all, but they were too deeply involved for her to back out now. "How long can you hold her?"   
  
She took another drag off the cigarette as he replied. "Without a deposit? Forty-eight hours at most. She's too pretty to keep off the market. If you're low on cash we can always make other arrangements," he purred, putting a hand on her thigh.   
  
She blew the entire drag directly into his face. _What a slimeball. They better have enough intel to take your ass off the street or you're gonna find out why this persona supposedly wore shirts that said 'Thirty Seconds' on them._ She tossed the cigarette out the window, clamping her hand around the bones in his wrist and squeezing hard enough to make him hiss in pain, lifting his hand off her thigh. "Money isn't the issue. You're not the only meeting I have today, and I wanna make sure she's still mine if I don't get a better offer," she growled, dumping his hand back in his own lap, her frustration at not being able to just deck this idiot coloring her voice. She gave him a glare to make it appear that he was trying her patience. "I'll call you tonight when I make up my mind if I still want her. Get the fuck outta my car."   
  
The contact rubbed his wrist, but did as told, not wanting to ruin a shot at becoming a big wheel. Having someone like her as a client would let him double his broker fees on both sides of the table. Cara watched him walk away as she picked up her phone and turned the sound on again. After a couple of minutes the two beefy undercover agents who had supposedly been her heavies got back in the front seat of the car. "We're clear," the driver, an almost seven-foot wall of muscle said, as he started the car.   
  
She felt her body relax, and she stuffed Gianna back into the hidey hole in her brain where she kept all of her work personas. "Are we picking up Din or no?" She asked, removing the myriad of jewelry she'd put on.   
  
"He said he'd meet us back at the station for debrief. Something about having everything ready to get in and out as quick as possible," came the reply.   
  
Cara smiled. He knew her all too well. Debriefing was such a pain in the ass, to the point she rarely got involved with projects anymore just to avoid it. She picked up her phone and sent him a reply.   
  
_Headed back to the station now. Can't wait to get this over with and get home to them. Did we get enough info?_   
  
**Full view of him taking a little black book from his pocket and looking through it before dialing a number. Undercover's gonna tail him, and then scoop him up as soon as he makes an actual arrangement for a drop.**   
  
_Wish you'd told me that, I would've straight up said yes when he asked me if I wanted her. I don't like the thought of this greaseball going to bed tonight with kids’ lives in his fucking hands._  
  
 **I know baby, but the more evidence we can get the better.**   
  
_I know, the more we get the longer he goes away. It just pisses me off that he's still on the street. See you back at headquarters._   
  
She put her phone in her lap again and reached for the bag she'd stuffed under the seat. She opened it, took out a packet of wipes and started scrubbing off the ridiculously heavy layer of makeup she'd put on.   
  


* * *

  
  
"See if Bodhi will take his treatment before he tries to come get in the shower with me. I need to wash off the smoke stench so I don't set him off and we wind up going to the ER," Cara said in the car a couple of hours later on their way home.   
  
Back at headquarters she had stripped off the pieces of wardrobe that she'd picked out from the storage room to create the look she'd wanted, so a lot of the smell was gone, but it lingered on her skin and in her hair.   
  
"I'll give him his treatment, and then while Bo showers with you, I'll give Leelee her bath," he said.   
  
Cara smiled at the use of their babies nicknames, he never used them when there was a chance someone would see or hear them, and it helped her transition from work to home. It helped him too she suspected, but she'd never asked him.   
  
When they arrived home they were met by an anxious babysitter, who looked to be at her wits end. With Bodhi in his room and Berkeley asleep in her swing Cara left Din to deal with the babysitter and quickly padded down the hall to the master bedroom. She headed straight into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her before turning on the shower. She could hear Bodhi asking for her and telling his dad he wanted to go shower while she stripped down.   
  
She could hear Din reasoning with the two-year-old. "Let's do your treatment first, so when you go shower with momma the warm will help you cough up all the icky stuff that's making you not breathe good," he said.   
  
Cara smiled and stepped into the shower. She stood under the spray, letting the hot water saturate her hair and skin, the heat making the lingering smell of smoke more prominent. She reached for her shampoo bottle, squirting some into her hand and then worked it into her hair, scrubbing her scalp well before rinsing out the suds. She repeated the same steps a second time, wanting to make sure she removed as much of the smell as possible. She applied conditioner, and let it sit while she lathered a mesh sponge and vigorously scrubbed her skin with it.   
  
As she rinsed off a faint cough made her smile, and she knew Bodhi had let himself in the bathroom. She slicked her hair back, chuckling when she spotted her naked toddler sitting patiently on the bathmat. She adjusted the water temperature and then opened the door and he pushed himself to his feet, climbing inside the shower. Cara shut the door, shifting far enough back so that the water wouldn't be in his face and Bodhi padded over to stand between her feet. "Bath first, then we'll whap your back," she said softly.   
  
Bodhi nodded and squeezed his eyes shut before bravely sticking his head under the water without being asked. Cara faltered a moment, and there was a pang in her chest as life gently reminded her that he was growing up so fast. She wondered how long she had before baths would be something else he insisted on doing by himself. She was yanked out of her longing by the feel of him pressing his lips against her thigh and blowing air through them to replicate the sound of a fart. Cara chuckled as she realized she still had time left to play with her silly little boy.   
  
She grabbed his bottle of baby shampoo and squirted a dollop directly on his head, gently scrubbing his jet-black locks. As soon as she took her hands out of his hair he stuck his head in the water to rinse out the soap. Cara lathered the washcloth and quickly ran it over his body, the two-year-old giggling when she tickled his belly.   
  
He rinsed the suds off, and then reached for his tub crayons while Cara rinsed out the washcloth and then settled on the shower floor. Bodhi settled on her lap, and while he amused himself with his scribbling Cara used the heel of her hand to gently thump on his back, hoping to dislodge some of the mucus in his lungs so that he could cough it up.   
  
After a couple of minutes he began coughing, and leaned over, spitting a large glob of phlegm into the drain. "Good job," Cara praised him. She continued to lightly beat on his back for several minutes, making sure to reward him with positive feedback everytime he successfully brought something up and spit it out.   
  
"Ready to get out?" She asked when she saw he was beginning to lose interest in his crayons. Bodhi nodded, and she held onto his arm to steady him as he stood up. She got to her feet and shut off the water before opening the shower door. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, tucking it in at her breasts. He followed her out of the shower, and she snagged his hooded towel, wrapping him up in it.   
  
The bathroom door opened and Din appeared. "C'mon lil man let's go get your jammies on while momma gets done," he said.   
  
Bodhi was reluctant to leave his momma's side, which tugged at his parents heartstrings. He was always a little clingy when he was around anyone new, and it took him a bit to get back to his normal self, but they could tell something was wrong. Cara picked him up, sitting him on the sink counter. "What is it baby?" She asked.   
  
"Hungie," he warbled.   
  
"You're still hungry?" She asked. He nodded.   
  
"Okay, we'll go get your jammies on and get you something else to eat while momma gets dressed okay?" Din asked. Another nod. Din picked the two-year-old up and playfully tossed him over his shoulder, Bodhi giggling furiously as he was carried out the door.   
  
Twenty minutes later Cara padded into the kitchen where Din was swaying back and forth in an attempt to soothe Berkeley while he warmed up something for Bodhi. The infant spotted her and began reaching for her, her cries getting high pitched and desperate. "My goodness," Cara cooed, taking the wailing seven-month-old from Din's arms, patting her back and softly shushing her as she carried her into the living room.   
  
She settled on the sofa with the infant and turned her in her arms. The temperature change had caused Cara's nipples to peek through her tank top, and Berkeley tried to latch onto one when it brushed her cheek. Her desperation to nurse wasn't lost on Cara. "Hold on sweetie," she soothed, slipping a hand inside her top and adjusting her breast before exposing the nipple.   
  
Berkeley's screams abruptly stopped as she latched on and began to greedily suckle. "Somebody must be starving," Cara said with a fond smile.   
  
"Not surprised," Din said, picking up the baby bottle from the sink, and carrying it over to show her that it was still three quarters of the way full.   
  
"Sissy no dwink dat," came a small voice from the kitchen.   
  
Both parents froze. Cara pushed herself to her feet, careful not to disturb Berkeley and disrupt her suckling. She and Din returned to the kitchen. "Sissy didn't drink any of her bottle?" She asked.   
  
Bodhi shook his head. "Sissy no eat," he said, pointing at the containers of baby food. "Say no baba. Say tarv."   
  
"Sissy wouldn't eat her new food, so the babysitter said she could starve," Din translated.   
  
"But why would she pour out part of the bottle?" Cara asked, dropping her gaze to her chest to check on Berkeley.   
  
"To corroborate the story she gave me," Din said. "It's guesswork on my part, but given that Bodhi doesn't talk a lot when he's around new people, she probably thought she could get away with it because he wouldn't be able to tell us anything different."   
  
As Bodhi eagerly dug into his mac and cheese, a thought worried Cara. "Bo, did she make you dinner?" She asked.   
  
The two-year-old shook his head. "Say no teement. Say no food," he replied.   
  
"He couldn't eat unless he took his treatment," Din translated. Cara fumed at the thought of her babies being purposely starved as a form of punishment.   
  
"I'm glad you told Dawes that I was done, because now I'm definitely not okay with leaving them with someone else," she said in a measured tone, feeling Berkeley unlatch. She turned the seven-month-old around and got her latched on to her other breast. "As soon as Leelee is done I'm calling the service. That woman does not need to be around children."   
  
"When he's done I'll get his teeth brushed and get him settled with a movie to unwind with while I make dinner for us," Din said. He was furious at the way the kids had been treated but knew Cara would hold her tongue a lot better than he would, and not just start screaming at the first person that answered the phone.   
  
Cara headed for the master bedroom so that once Berkeley was done, she could change her before putting her down for the night. In her mind she went over exactly what she wanted to say, hoping to keep a lid on her temper, because she knew that the blame was solely on the babysitter, not the sitting service itself. What person in their right mind would punish a toddler, much less an infant by starving them? Her eyes welled with angry tears as she settled on the bed, and in her arms a tiny blue eye appeared, Berkeley picking up on her mother's distress. She gave the infant a reassuring smile and patted her bottom. "Momma's okay Leelee,"she soothed.   
  
Cara focused on the infant in her arms and set her frustration aside. She needed to focus on her babies. There would be time to be angry later.

  
Later that night Cara pushed a hand through her hair as she padded down the hall to her toddler's room. After getting Berkeley tucked into her co bed she had called the sitting service and had surprised herself by keeping her temper and not ripping the support person's head off. She had been escalated to a supervisor, and then again to someone else above them. By the time the call was over her fees had been refunded, and she had been assured the babysitter would be removed from their service.   
  
She entered Bodhi's room to set things up for the last part of his bedtime routine. She cut off the main lights and turned on his night light and humidifier before she stripped off her tank top. She settled in the glider, draping her shirt over the back, planning to indulge him in some skin on skin contact, something she loved as much as both kids did. The light patter of bare feet on the carpet caught her attention and Bodhi entered his room, beelining for her in the glider.   
  
He climbed into her lap, sitting so that they were chest to chest. "Mama I sorwy," he warbled, his chin beginning to tremble.   
  
"What are you sorry for?" She asked softly, expecting him to tell her it was something non sensical.   
  
"No hep sissy," he said as he began to cry.   
  
Cara's heart broke at her son's distress. There had never been an ounce of jealousy, or an outburst of sibling rivalry over Berkeley, in fact it was quite the opposite. Bodhi was devoted to his sister, and fiercely protective of her, and in his two-year-old mind he had let her down. "Oh buddy it's okay, it's not your fault," she soothed.   
  
She pulled the toddler against her, moving the chair back and forth with a bare foot, lightly rubbing his back. The sound brought Din to the doorway, but Cara held out a hand and gave him a look to indicate nothing was wrong. He nodded and then disappeared again.   
  
Bodhi's sobs slowly died down as he cried himself out, and he eventually grew so still she was certain he'd fallen asleep. "Mama," the tiny voice broke the stillness.   
  
"What baby?" She asked softly.   
  
The two-year-old sat up and gently patted her breast. "Peas?" He warbled.   
  
Cara chuckled and slid her hands under his arms, lifting him slightly and turning him so that he was sitting sideways on her lap. He instantly curled up in her arms, wrapping his tiny body around her torso and latching onto the closest nipple. He sighed and his eyes closed, the tension in his body melting away as he relaxed.   
  
She had worried that allowing him to nurse occasionally would cause him some sort of setback and had said as much to the pediatrician. But after revealing that he only did it when he was sick or extremely upset, and at bedtime, the doctor had reassured her that he was doing what was known as comfort nursing, and it was actually fairly common. The reassurance had been all Cara had needed to ease her worry, and she found herself looking forward to these little moments with him.   
  
He began to get heavy, a sure sign that he was falling asleep. She began to finger comb his hair to help him drift off, a weakness he got from his daddy. Bodhi unlatched himself and sleepily pulled himself upright, wiggling so that he could put his head on Cara's shoulder. He slumped against her with another sigh and she listened as his breathing deepened and evened out. She smiled, thrilled that her babies always went to bed with tummies full of her milk.   
  
Cara sat with him for a few minutes until she was sure he was asleep, before gently bringing the glider to a stop and standing up. She carried him to his bed and peeled him off, covering him up. She paused a moment, wanting to make sure he was still asleep before she padded out of his room, and headed for the master bedroom. She curled up with Din as they watched the evening news, unwinding and connecting after a long day. Tomorrow her day would be filled with laundry, housecleaning and having her patience tested by an adorably stubborn two-year-old. She couldn't wait.  
  
  



End file.
